Josee johnson



Fries.

JOSEF JOHNSON, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

TOY GUN.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 26,269, dated November 29, 1859.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JosEE JOHNSON, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain Improvement in Toy Guns, by which they are cheapened in construction, simplified in operation, and rendered less liable to derangement; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference heilig had to the accompanying drawings, forming'part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal and Fig. 2 a transverse section.

- Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in both the drawings.

In all spring-guns previously known the deiiecting of the spring and the releasing of the same are made separate operations, one movement or effort being required to accumulate the power to project the. missile, and another to release the spring and produce the effect desired. There are many examples in other machines where springs are compressed and released by a single movement; but I believe my gun to be the first instance in which a spring has been so arranged relatively to a hollow channel or tube that a spring-gun of this character is produced.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation by the aid of the drawings and the letters of reference denoted thereon.

A is a hollow cylinder or barrel, suitable for receiving and directing the projectile.

B is a stock or handle of any suitable character.` Both A and B may be a single piece of wood or metal, or other suitable material, if preferred.

O is a projectile of any ordinary form and character.

D is a wire spring fixed in B, as represented. It extends upward therefrom to a littledistance, as represented, and is bent in several coils to obtain the proper degree of elasticity, and thence returns and passes through A B. A slot, K, of a breadth a little greater than the diameter of D, is made through A B in a vertical plane coinciding with the center of the bore of A, as shown in Fig. 2, and the returning portion of the spring D extends down` ward through this slot with a rounded or bent end. The termination of D is at such a depth below the lower side, Cl, of A B--or, in other words, the wire D extends so far through and beyond the slot K-that on acting on it with the finger L and moving it steadily backward the end of D disappears in the slot when in the position shown by the red lines, and the finger consequently loses its hold thereon and allows it to escape. It then, by its elasticity, sp rings forward into the position shown by the dark lines. The precise forni of D is not essential to the success of my invention, and the coils therein may be increased. in number 01 omitted altogether at pleasure. The gun should be held in a vertical or inclined position when the iinger commences to operate, so that the projectile O will follow D to a greater or less distance as it is pulled backward, and it thus assumes the position shown by the red lines, in which it is vigorously struck by the spring D when released, and ejected with considerable force through A. The slot K is longer on its lower than on its upper edge, as represented; and D, after its release from the iinger L, springs into contact with the point g of the slot K, but does not bear against the end of the slot on its lower edge, g.- The momentum of the spring D, as it escapes from the iinger and strikes g, causes it to be deiiected forward for an instant, as shown by the dotted lines D. By thisv temporary deflection it strikes the projectile O, even if the gun is not properly held during the deflection of D, and consequently it the projectile is in the place shown by the dark lines, and not sufficiently farback in the bore to receive the fullest force of the blow. My gun will consequently shoot with some eiect if the projectile remains at the point in A where it tirst meets D, but will shoot more powerfully if the spring D is allowed to act on the missile through a longer space.

My invention is designed as a toy for childrens use-an application tor which the trifiing expense involved in its construction, the simplicity of its operation, and its little liability to derangement peculiarly lits it.

It may be observed that in case the tension of the spring D is not sufficient to induce its resting against git still produces a Very similar effect, but in a less degree, the spring D being still able to move past its natural posi-' tion.

The gun may, if preferred, be constructed With a View to act under such conditions, the slot K being so lengthened that D never comes in Contact with any stop; but I prefer the oon- Struction herein shown.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new therein,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. So arranging the spring D relatively to the bore A that D is, by a single movement of the iinger, used both as a trigger and a propelling force to discharge the projectile 

